Why would a cat's stomach get very hard?

Call your vet immediatly!!

Just as we humans get bloated, our cats and dogs can too. Unfortunately in cats and dogs, unlike in humans, bloating can be very dangeroud. If your veterinarian says your cat/dog has a bloat, they mean that your cat/dogs stomach is full of excess gas, fluid or foam. Bloat can be caused by a number of different things, most often, dogs and cats get bloat because they swallow excess air. It can also occur when the valve at the bottom of their stomach is blocked and the gas and other material produced by the digestive process cannot exit the stomach.

Bloat happens rapidly and can even be fatal in 30 minutes if it's severe. If your dog or cats abdomen is distended, hard or your notice nausea, vomiting, attempts to vomit, sudden weakness or collapse, you should contact your veterinarian immediatly. Bloat is a life threatening conditions.

Quite often with bloat, the stomach becomes enlarged or dilated, it can then twist somewhere between a quarter and a full turn, this twisting is called volvulus. When your cat or dog has gastric dilation and volvulus (GDV) the openings at the top and bottom of the stomach twist, blocking all materials from entering or leaving. As the digestive process continues, the stomach will swell more and more, as the stomach gets larger, it can press against blood vessels and decrease circulation. This in turn can eventually lead to death of the tiuuse in the stomach walls. It can also take up some of the room the diaphragm needs to expand, which makes it hard for the cat or dog to breathe. If left untreated, the circulation and breathing problems caused by GDV and bloat can cause infections, bleeding disorders, heart failure and sudden death.